2014 First Elk
- Thread starter Swede
- Start date
Swede,\"Swede\" said:Mtnmutt: Hey, I have a lot riding on you getting your first elk this year, so don\'t let me down.
I hope you did not bet money on me. Definitely not even odds. The elk are the favorites to win.
I happen to be on a trip out East now. On the plane out, I was re-reading your book. It was the only reading material that I brought with me.
I am scared of heights. It got a little better since moving to CO and riding ski lifts, however, I am still scared of heights. Treestands are not on my horizon.
While reading your book, I was formulating my plans to apply your tips to some ambush locations. I will be setting out 2 trail cams this summer. I highly recommend your book even for those that do not do elk treestand hunting.
This site has put more tools in my toolbox. I may try to act like a cat as Still Hunter describes. I have significantly better hearing for this coming season, therefore, I feel a bit more confident in hunting and hearing them.
Brad was very generous last year with an offer for me to join him at his camp, but I have this drive to get it done in my hunting unit. The elk are there. I just need to refine my skills to get it done.
In October, I hope to bug all of you for elk recipes.
Guys: Lets engage in a little friendly debate or discussion on this matter of \"just enjoy the hunt.\"
I say that just enjoying it bad advise if you really have the objective of killing elk. If you are wanting something more than just a cow of small bull it is really bad advise.
Now I am not suggesting that I don\'t love hunting. Not at all, but I don\'t \"just enjoy the hunt.\" I go to bed late and get up early. I go into some places and hunt that I know will stress my body way past the enjoyment level. I don\'t do that to torture myself, and I rail against those that advocate making hunting into some kind of torture game as though that were an end in itself, or that was all there is to getting elk. Still, we inevitably force ourselves to go the extra mile to get game. We do not \"just enjoy the hunt\".
If you are a serious hunter you will be out long hours when it is hot, when it is cold, when it is raining or snowing. If you are serious about getting an elk you will hunt when some part of your body says\" take it easy, I want sympathy and gentle treatment\". If you are serious about killing elk, you will dig in when your buddies have given up and gone home. If you are serious about killing an elk you will likely work harder than you will on the job. You will go down 1,500 feet to a basin that holds elk, knowing you will have to hike every inch of the way back up out of there after dark. This may sound crazy, but in the end you will realize a genuine love for a sport that treats you very rough and can be merciless.
Please note carefully, I am not suggesting anyone needs to approach the level of an Olympic decathlon athlete to be a very effective hunter. If that was the case I would have no chance. Elk hunting is for anyone old and responsible enough that they can manage to get out and hunt. Just know it is not always easy, and you will likely drive yourself to levels you may not have thought you were up to, if you are determined to succeed.
I say that just enjoying it bad advise if you really have the objective of killing elk. If you are wanting something more than just a cow of small bull it is really bad advise.
Now I am not suggesting that I don\'t love hunting. Not at all, but I don\'t \"just enjoy the hunt.\" I go to bed late and get up early. I go into some places and hunt that I know will stress my body way past the enjoyment level. I don\'t do that to torture myself, and I rail against those that advocate making hunting into some kind of torture game as though that were an end in itself, or that was all there is to getting elk. Still, we inevitably force ourselves to go the extra mile to get game. We do not \"just enjoy the hunt\".
If you are a serious hunter you will be out long hours when it is hot, when it is cold, when it is raining or snowing. If you are serious about getting an elk you will hunt when some part of your body says\" take it easy, I want sympathy and gentle treatment\". If you are serious about killing elk, you will dig in when your buddies have given up and gone home. If you are serious about killing an elk you will likely work harder than you will on the job. You will go down 1,500 feet to a basin that holds elk, knowing you will have to hike every inch of the way back up out of there after dark. This may sound crazy, but in the end you will realize a genuine love for a sport that treats you very rough and can be merciless.
Please note carefully, I am not suggesting anyone needs to approach the level of an Olympic decathlon athlete to be a very effective hunter. If that was the case I would have no chance. Elk hunting is for anyone old and responsible enough that they can manage to get out and hunt. Just know it is not always easy, and you will likely drive yourself to levels you may not have thought you were up to, if you are determined to succeed.
Swede is right.
About day 5 when the alarm clock goes off at 3:45am, do you say to yourself,
\'Ah... Im gonna just enjoy the hunt today. The sleeping bag is warm, its a gonna be a nice today. Im going to make some coffee and lounge around camp...\'
Is that what happens?
Not a chance.
You drag your sorry, tired butt out of the tent, and go hunt.
I typically lose 10lbs in 10 days of elk hunting.
In doing that am I \'enjoying the the hunt\'?
Absolutely. But in a much different way
About day 5 when the alarm clock goes off at 3:45am, do you say to yourself,
\'Ah... Im gonna just enjoy the hunt today. The sleeping bag is warm, its a gonna be a nice today. Im going to make some coffee and lounge around camp...\'
Is that what happens?
Not a chance.
You drag your sorry, tired butt out of the tent, and go hunt.
I typically lose 10lbs in 10 days of elk hunting.
In doing that am I \'enjoying the the hunt\'?
Absolutely. But in a much different way
Still Hunter: I disagree. The elk woods are full of people the first days of hunting season. I know some, and they don\'t have to get back to work. After just four days of not getting an elk, even when they had a good shot opportunity, they are gone. The last Sunday of the season the woods are quiet where I hunt. The elk hunters are gone. If I am deep into the forest I will not see or hear one hunter. This I have learned over the years; if you are a serious hunter, you will really believe you can git er done. You will hang in there looking for the joy that lies ahead. Friend, I am sure you know this. It is not always just having fun. The true elk hunter will continue on, knowing that giving up will not meet their personal standard. The real reward comes to those who continue on to the end. Sometimes I have really wished I had just one more day. I came up short, but there was joy in just persevering. Sometimes it has happened for me on the last hour of the last day. Yes sir it was fun, but is was not just fun.
I agree completely. Hunters quit early, because of either success, or no success. Maybe that\'s all the time they could spare.
I guess i\'m not expressing myself right. I\'m good at that.
I guess what i\'m saying is elk hunters should know going into the hunt that it\'s going to difficult most of the time. It\'s a matter of mentally conditioning yourself for the work to come, and making the best of it. Enjoy it as much as you can. Don\'t be negative, because that will just make it worse.
Make any sense?
I guess i\'m not expressing myself right. I\'m good at that.
I guess what i\'m saying is elk hunters should know going into the hunt that it\'s going to difficult most of the time. It\'s a matter of mentally conditioning yourself for the work to come, and making the best of it. Enjoy it as much as you can. Don\'t be negative, because that will just make it worse.
Make any sense?
